Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Lord of the Rings Online - Is it me?

Or is it something else? Something more within the game itself that keeps me from thinking it is worth the time or effort to even load up on my PC.

Well, this weekend my decision about LOTRO has been made.

Has it really made progress since launch. Or is it the same old crud I always just wanted to rip my hair out about.

Next week, Scarybooster will be out of town, and needed some bloggers to help him out as he gets his animal change to a cross between a transvestite and a beetle, with lion legs and crows feet (for eyes...). I offered my assistance for a post, but, I needed fodder for my post. Well, Turbine was kind enough to hand me a free weekend (Source) for me to take for a spin, and see if all the time I have been away has mellowed me.

I actually have become kind of easier to please in some arena's. For example, I do not HATE Warhammer Online as much as I did at launch, and they have made progress. I was able to go back to EQ2 and I am having a blast.

But, as many who read my blog know, my LOTRO hate is something more...something seething under the surface, waiting to make me feel all Hobbity in that Turbine special way (i.e: I will ALWAYS feel like I have a full diaper as I run around in their world...)

It's preciousss iz nots so preciousss to me'sss

*Hrmmm*

Anyways...

What was it about LOTRO and this deep seated feeling of gut wrenching horror that drove me away? The forced grouping to complete major quest lines? The horrid performance that made uber hardware feel sluggish with all the hitching? The need to kill so many bears and wolves and boars that the genocide of these creatures became the all encompassing mission? The fact my guy had a size two waist? The fact my female avatars all had hands as large as their heads? Where was the fun and glory of most MMO's? Why did I feel like it was always a "been there, done that" kind of rat race for that next kill 10x quest?

As you can see, I have a lot that I am asking of LOTRO. I did not enjoy the crafting at the time, but I have changed since those times. I also understand the grind concept, and as long as I have my team (the family) the grind seems to disappear. Who knows...maybe grouping may even be fun?

6 comments:

I think you have a point that the original 50 levels in Eriador feel quite like generic MMO fare at times. Still, they should look very good. It is a MAJOR design mistake to shove "Kill 300 X" traits in the face of level 20-30 players. This was somehow turning me off - and later killing grey mobs is also weird.

I did not immediately subscribe after my trial, I was waiting for Aion.

But well, in the end LOTRO had some more appeal. The later areas also changed according to the time - Skirmishes seem to be LOTRO's take on "instant action dungeons", something many MMOs seem to do lately. Mirkwood and Moria are also very distinct design stages - the dreaded traiting has been reduced or happens while you are questing naturally.

Actually, my goal is to play my higher level, before doing a lower level start.I have level 40 something Minstrel and a ...uh..Ranger? ...Hunter?then I plan to try something else...not sure what yet.If any of those classes do not satisfy, then I do not know what to do.

Just recently got back into this game myself after originally quitting in disgust a few years back. Back then, I was expecting the glory of Middle Earth, vast expanses to explore, ancient ruins to delve into. Instead, the first thing that hit me was it took 5 minutes to run from Hobbiton to Bree. So I figured Frodo could probably be in Mordor in a couple hours and be back in time for supper! Unsubscribed.

This time, I went back with lower expectations, expecting a vaguely Tolkienesque game world and thats all it is. However, maybe I have mellowed and changed, I find myself really enjoying the game and I havent even made it to the new content yet, still only level 41.

I think if you surgically remove any childhood love for Tolkiens work and just play this as a game, you may be pleasantly surprised.